Marisa Tomei

For some performers, winning an Oscar became both a blessing and a curse. While an Academy Award could lead to bigger and better roles, it could also bring about career stagnation, as the actor tried...
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Clooney's Ides to open Venice Film Festival

By:
WENN.com Source
Jun 21, 2011

The film, based on the Beau Willimon play Faragut North, has been a passion project of Clooney's for over four years.
The project chronicles Howard Dean's 2004 presidential race and stars Clooney as a politician caught up in a scandal.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are all featured in the film, which Clooney has also directed.

Sweetness! As we might have mentioned before, we’re kind of looking forward to Aaron Sorkin’s new show and not only because it’s from Aaron Sorkin but because of everyone involved with it. Only kind of sort of interested. But now things are a little more official as Olivia Munn officially joined the ranks of the still untitled show. Munn might not have been the best actress on Perfect Couples (horribly miscast) or the best News Correspondent on The Daily Show (but definitely the prettiest) but just maybe this will be the right blend for her. And if things continue to go as well as they have for the show Marisa Tomei might officially join and that would just be perfect. No understatement there at all.
Source: EW

My love-fest for this show has been well documented and oddly it doesn’t seem to be abating anytime soon. Whoever is casting this new Aaron Sorkin show just keeps on courting fantastic female talent. As we know, Jeff Daniels is playing a cable news host and Marisa Tomei is in talks to play his executive producer (also in talks for the role? Emily Mortimer. Please don’t make me choose between the two. I don’t think I could). Now we’ve learned that Olivia Munn is in talks to play a financial analyst on the same network and Alison Pill is negotiating to play an associate producer on the program.
I already want to take this show out to dinner and let it meet my parents and get it pregnant behind the middle school.
Possibly titled More As This Story Develops, the pilot will be directed by Greg Mottola and yeah, these new additions are stellar. Now, there seems to be an extreme internet love/hate relationship with Munn. Some nerds go crazy for her while others think she panders too much and isn’t that pretty. Me? I fall in the middle. She’s definitely attractive and you can’t be on The Daily Show and not be somewhat funny. Besides, if they are going to portray cable news realistically they need someone hot that can handle the banter. I think Munn’s perfect. As for Alison Pill? She's engaged to Jay Baruchel so she can't be that bad. She also stole every scene in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and if that doesn’t convince you enough then we have nothing left to say except, "We duel at dawn. Pistols, knives, fists. That order."
Source: Deadline

As I’ve mentioned before, everything about this project is moving in the right direction. We have Aaron Sorkin returning to politics and TV, it’s on HBO, Greg Mottola directing the pilot, and Jeff Daniels as a cable pundit. Screams awesome, right? Now it’s screaming through a bullhorn: Marisa Tomei is in talks to join as a news producer and a potential love interest for Daniels. Couldn’t be better, right? Well let me throw this bit of speculation in your face: since this is HBO and Tomei has a propensity to take off her clothes, well, you do the math.
Source: Vulture

It’s been a long-standing tradition in film to present viewers with a sort of vicarious vacation. Movies like The Tourist allow their settings to be just as much of a main character as their beautiful leads are. Like the movie that hits Blu-ray today, all it takes is a few unrealistically gorgeous faces (Angelina Jolie, check; Johnny Depp, check) and a picturesque and breathtaking setting (Paris, check; Venice, check) to get viewers to feel like they just took a little two hour fantasy European excursion from the convenience of their couch or comfy theater seat. The Tourist is part of a long line of travel-inspiring films that span everything from the classics to teen movies, but they all accomplish the same thing. They all give the people what they want: beautiful people in even more beautiful places.
When you combine a few of these European adventures, you get a sort of virtual European tour through film and since The Tourist places us firmly in Venice, what would be a better place to start than the boot-shaped nation of Italy?
Italy
Obviously, Europe has a great many beautiful locations to offer, but Italy has quite a few vacation destinations. It would be worth spending a little extra time here and the numerous films that take place here are just further proof of that fact.
Roman Holiday
Pretty People: Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck
Locale: Rome
You really can’t have a list of European excursion films without including the granddaddy of them all. This classic pits Hepburn’s sheltered princess against Peck’s hard-hitting, cantankerous reporter and they fall in love as they tour the classic city together. The film plays on the city’s rich history and beauty and gives us one of the most classic scenes in film, the Mouth of Truth test.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Pretty People: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
Locale: Venice, Naples, Tuscany, Rome, Sanremo
Admittedly, this part of your tour is a little more stressful than the romantic adventure you get in Roman Holiday, but the film takes you all over the beautiful country and there are few things sexier than beautiful people in beautiful clothes navigating an extensive and mysterious plot in beautiful locations. One of the most breathtaking of the film’s locations is the island of Ischia (in the bay of Naples) which is full of beautiful Cliffside views, gorgeous beaches, and ancient ruins. Not a bad place to spend a few intriguing hours, eh?
Only You
Pretty People: Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei
Locale: Venice, Tuscany, Rome, Positano
Well, this film does start in dreary Pittsburgh, but it quickly takes us on a whirlwind tour of Italy all in the name of fate and true love. The plot is fairly pedestrian, but plays on some of our favorite classic films, especially Roman Holiday, and nothing can beat Robert Downey Jr. pursuing the woman of his dreams in one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. The film’s climax takes place in Positano, a gorgeous city propped on a seaside cliff and if it doesn’t make you want to book an Italian vacation on your laptop as the romantic conclusion plays out there’s something wrong with you.
Spain
There aren’t as many films that take advantage of the beauty Spain has to offer, but there is one that truly merits a stop on this tour.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Pretty People: Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall
Locale: Barcelona (duh)
There’s little to complain about with this film, unless you hate gorgeous locales and super sexy people getting super sexed up. You don’t hate that do you? Barcelona feeds the sexual freedom seen in Cristina, Juan Antonio and Maria Elena and makes the cautious Vicky question her reserved ways. Barcelona is as integral to this film as Javier Bardem’s sheer magnetism is to well, life. (How hot is he?)
France
It’s long been touted as the location for the getaway of all getaways, the most luxurious sunny vacation you can imagine. It represents the height of luxury and class, so it’s no wonder it’s a stop on our little flight plan.
To Catch a Thief
Pretty People: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly
Locale: French Riviera, Cote d’Azur, Cannes, French Alps, Monaco (Technically not France, but we’ll allow it)
Not only do we have two of the most classically beautiful people unraveling the mystery behind a series of jewel heists (which as you know are the sexiest of all heists), but they’re doing so in one of the most beautiful places you can imagine. As they fall in love and Grant’s persistent John Robie straddles rooftops to catch the real jewel thief, you can’t help but allow the beauty of the setting to add to the sweeping adventure of it all.
Chocolat
Pretty People: Johnny Depp, Carrie-Anne Moss, Juliette Binoche
Locale: Rural France
This romantic little film combines our two favorite ingredients, beautiful people and beautiful places, with one other fantastic ingredient: CHOCOLATE. Um, hi. This sounds like paradise. Besides, it also includes a scene where our heroine gets to make out with Johnny Depp…in a boat…on a river…in France. I want to go to there.
Amelie
Pretty People: Audrey Tatou, Mathieu Kassovitz
Locale: Every inch of Paris
Of course, this film is the fantastic tale of Amelie, the shy and sheltered little Parisian lady who finds love, but pursues it in her own eccentric way with encouragement from her friend, a wise old painter with brittle bones. (And the object of her desires, Nino, is just about as cute as button.) However, another character necessary to the plot is the living, breathing city of Paris, which lends beauty and shape to the film.
England
We don’t always think of England as being beautiful, it’s often thought of as nothing more than a gray and dreary landscape, but the beauty of the city of London is undeniable. The centuries of architecture are breathtaking and there are a few films that take advantage of that.
Love Actually
Pretty People: Colin Firth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Rodrigo Santoro among others
Locale: London
The film follows eight couples (some of which are comprised of very, very pretty people) as they go through different bouts of love, but the beautiful backdrop for all this mushy stuff is the magnificence of the city of London. It may not be as instantly romantic as the streets of Paris or Rome, but it is beautiful and with the help of a little romance, the film really showcases that.
Germany (and Prague)
Neither of these places are touted for their beauty in most main stream culture, but a few films have managed to find ways to bring out the best in these locations.
Chasing Liberty
Pretty People: Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode
Locale: Berlin, Prague, Venice, London
Yes, I know this was one of those run of the mill teen romantic comedies. Yes I know Mandy Moore isn’t that great it in, but she’s so pretty! And so is Matthew Goode for that matter and thanks to this movie we met him long before Match Point. The thing that puts this average movie above its contemporaries for me is the sheer beauty of the shooting locations. They don’t even touch Paris or Rome and they spend a great deal of time showing us the wonder of gorgeous European locales that get far less attention: Prague and Berlin. (No, xXx does NOT count.)
Austria
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why more romantic movies don’t take place in Vienna. I mean, just look at this and tell me you don’t want to book a ticket right now.
Before Sunrise
Pretty People: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Locale: Vienna
It’s the perfect beautiful people in beautiful places romance: it happens by chance, it’s brief and beautiful, and it feeds off of the classic city where it occurs. They meet on a train, Hawke’s character has no money for a hotel, so they simply spend the entire evening roaming the beautiful city in the best getting-to-know-you set up ever. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

Relativity Media’s Limitless tops the weekend with a bigger-than-expected $19 million and in the process makes Bradley Cooper America’s favorite leading man. Hangover star and favorite of women everywhere, Cooper impresses with his first truly non-ensemble role and proves that he can open a movie on his own. A terrific marketing campaign that emphasized the star’s face and a tag line that clearly explained the premise of the movie totally clicked with audiences both male and female. The story of a man who stumbles upon a pill that can accelerate brain function and thus offer the user limitless possibilities, the film is a PG-13 rated mind-bender that co-stars Robert DeNiro and is directed by Neil Burger who helmed the 2006 release The Illusionist starring Edward Norton.
Paramount’s animated Rango, featuring the voice of Johnny Depp as a chameleon Sheriff of a wild-west town, is a solid springtime family hit adding another $15.3 million this weekend. Solid mid-week grosses in the $2.5 million range reflected great word-of-mouth and the film now has a total domestic gross of $92.6 million.
In third place, Sony’s sci-fi alien adventure Battle: Los Angeles earned $14.6 million and realized a 59% second weekend drop. With a better-than-expected debut last weekend of $35.6 million, the film also performed well mid-week with grosses in the $3 million range. With the look and feel of a summer extravaganza, this is one battle that audiences seem more than happy get involved in, particularly the young males who came out in big numbers for the opening weekend. The domestic total through Sunday is $60.6 million.
Of course there are two additional new wide releases that made their debuts this weekend. In fourth place with $13.4 million, Matthew McConaughey gets back to the type of role that catapulted him to stardom fifteen years ago in 1996’s A Time to Kill with a lawyer of a different sort in Lionsgate’s The Lincoln Lawyer. As an attorney who conducts business out of the back of his Lincoln automobile, the R-Rated drama boasts a solid cast including Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy and Josh Lucas. In the first use of the online deal-of-the-day website Groupon to promote a film nationally, Lionsgate is using an innovative marketing campaign to reach the site’s 60 million subscribers in an effort to raise awareness of the film. The promotion paid off big with 40,000 redeemed coupons for the film enhancing the overall weekend box office revenue and should inspire future use of this type of tie-in. A Saturday gross uptick of 37% reflects solid word-of-mouth and should hold the film in good stead in the next couple of weeks with the 85% of the audience that was over 25 years of age.
Fifth place goes to an alien of a more comedic nature than those looking to vaporize Los Angeles as Universal’s R-rated Paul descended into theatres this weekend with $13.1 million. With the alien given voice by Seth Rogen and co–starring Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz alumni Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Paul has already earned $28.1 million expanding into 9 overseas territories. Notably the film posted the biggest debut of the year in the U.K. and the biggest opening for an American film in France in 2011 thus far. With the director of 2007’s Superbad at the helm, a decidedly off-beat sense of humor and the comedy credentials to back it up, Paul provided comic relief of an other-worldly sort this weekend.
The fourth consecutive “down” weekend at the box office fed us yet another bitter pill when a year ago Alice in Wonderland had a $34.2 million third weekend gross and saw the low $20 million debuts of Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid and “Sony’s“The Bounty Hunter.
Weekend Box-Office
Top Movies - For Weekend of March 18, 2011 - Estimates
Movie Weekend Gross Total to Date
1 Limitless (PG-13) $19.0M $19.0M
2 Rango (PG) $15.3M $92.5M
3 Battle: Los Angeles (PG-13) $14.6M $60.6M
4 The Lincoln Lawyer (R) $13.4M $13.4M
5 Paul (R) $13.1M $13.1M
6 Red Riding Hood (PG-13) $7.2M $26.0M
7 The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13) $5.9M $48.8M
8 Mars Needs Moms! (PG) $5.3M $15.4M
9 Beastly (PG-13) $3.3M $22.2M
10 Hall Pass (R) $2.6M $39.6M

Could we be on the cusp of a Matthew McConaughey renaissance? Those familiar with the actor’s recent output – a couple of regrettable rom-coms and the straight-to-video-ish Surfer, Dude, with an inspired supporting gig in Tropic Thunder sandwiched in between -- might be inclined to scoff at the suggestion, and I’d have been inclined to scoff along with them before I witnessed his work in the new legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer. McConaughey’s performance as Mick Haller, a bottom-feeding defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Continental, is drawing near-universal praise from critics, and for good reason: It’s terrific, a glowing reminder of what he's capable of when handed the right material.
And there’s reason to be optimistic that McConaughey’s resurgence might well hold: A glance at his pipeline reveals several intriguing upcoming projects: Killer Joe, a comedy co-starring Emile Hirsch and directed by William Friedkin; Bernie, in which he reunites with Dazed and Confused director Richard Linklater; and the Dallas Buyer’s Club, the true story of an AIDS patient-turned-pharmaceuticals smuggler, which Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) is currently attached to direct. The pedigrees of the filmmakers involved and the conspicuous lack of Fools Gold- or Ghosts of Girlfriends Past-esque loglines happily indicate that a significant uptick in quality could be forthcoming.
Recently, McConaughey spoke with Hollywood.com about The Lincoln Lawyer and more in an exclusive phone interview:
Your character in this film works out of the back of a Lincoln Continental. I hear you've been known to use a vehicle as your office as well.
Oh yeah. I’ve always loved to customize my own cars and work out of them. I once had this 1996 Savana GMC van. I stripped out the back, put in a nice couch that unfolded into a bed, put in a big table with a bunch of AC hookups. I had a fax back there, a printer, everything. It was my mobile office, pretty much like Mick Haller’s in this film. And then I moved up to trailers, started customizing trailers, which I still do to this day. Part of its [appeal] is getting two things done at once: You’re moving, you’re heading somewhere, but you’re taking care of business on the way. And it’s still sometimes one of my favorite places to work.
Sounds like there might be some potential there for a side business.
Well, I’ve got some ideas about that, actually, about some McConaughey Signature Series mobile offices and live-in places.
Sign me up! When I saw The Lincoln Lawyer, it was at a special screening at Lionsgate, and you showed up along with Michael Connelly, the author of the book on which the film is based, to give a brief introduction beforehand. I noticed afterward that you stood in the back of the screening room throughout the entirety of the film. Is that something you do often?
No. I was there to introduce Connelly. And then when Connelly said, "Hey, hang out for the opening credits." Then the director [Brad Furman] called and said, "Check out the opening credits and see what you think because there's a new edit." So, I was just going to hang through the opening credits. And I stand and I'm watching the credits and I see what they did ... and then I just got kind of hooked. I'm watching the first scene and then the next one then the next one and then I'm halfway through it and I'm thinking, "Wait a minute, how does Haller get out of this?" [Laughs] I obviously know how, but I wanted to see it. Next thing you know, it's the final credits and I've been there the whole movie standing up.
Look, when I go see a movie that I've made, you gotta remember that usually it was filmed like a year ago. Nine months to a year is about how long ago you finish making a movie. And to come back and watch it -- I don't know, for me it's always been somewhat of an overwhelming experience because you're looking at three months of work, twelve hours a day, six days a week, compressed into two hours of film. And so every scene brings back lots of memories of, you know, the six hours it took to shoot that three-minute, four-minute scene. And sometimes they're easier to watch, sometimes they're not. But I'm pretty happy with Lincoln Lawyer. It was a lot of things I wanted to get across, and I think what we're all trying to get across happened. I think it's good. I think it's a good, strong, legal thriller. I think it's surprising as hell. It's got a killer cast. An all-star cast. It's the kind of movie I want to go see in the theater, you know?
Definitely. The cast is one of the hallmarks of this film. When you're working with multiple award-winners like Marisa Tomei and William H. Macy, does it compel you to sort of raise your own game?
Honestly? I've been asked that and it's always a good question. It's not about raising your game in the sense that you need to do more. A lot of times, it's about doing less. It's almost like you don't have to try as hard because you're dealing with someone who's good, who's easier to listen to. They're easier to react to. They're easier to believe.
That's an almost zen-like notion, accomplishing more by doing less.
Look, I had a lot of heavyweight stuff to deal with as this character, Mick Haller. Every scene for me is loaded. You know what I mean? Dealing with self-preservation, taking care of my family, their security, trying not to be arrested for a murder, trying to defend a guilty man and get an innocent man out of jail. I got a heavy load that's adding up on my shoulders in this film -- Mick Haller does. So I had of plenty to consider about where I was coming from and going to as a character. So, you know, what's uncomfortable and what makes it hard to act sometimes is going into scenes and going, "I'm not sure where I'm coming from or going in this scene and what it's about." That's when a scene can be tough.
It's certainly one of the more challenging characters I've seen you play in a while.
Yeah. The guy's up against massive challenges, dealing with consequences, and figuring how to get what he wants and what he believes is right. He's living his worst nightmare, and he's doing everything he can. He's a damn good lawyer and he knows the system, but he's having to pull jokers out of his sleeve and win certain things on sheer willpower and gamble and meddle, you know? So that's what dramas allow, more so than a comedy. It's real-life consequences. The blows, the punches really hurt. The bullets really land. The people really bleed. People really cry. People really enjoy victory. People really feel pain and defeat. You can love harder. You can cry harder. You can be more angry, harder. That's what dramas allow.
Were you looking to flex your dramatic muscles? I know you're coming off a stretch of comedies.
I liked the story. It was a legal drama that had a great page-turning thriller aspect, a whodunit cat-and-mouse chase. I just wanted to be the guy to get into those situations and play the guy who's gotta handle them. And then I read it and I was just like, I haven't done anything like this in awhile and it's exactly where I am and where I feel like being right now. So, that's where I dove in, you know?
You've got a lot of really interesting projects coming up. Do you see this perhaps as the beginning of a new stage of your career?
Maybe, you know? I'm not much for seeing things as full stops, fresh starts. I think it's all part of the same evolution and career, you know? I think, probably, another stage is worth saying. Or maybe another chapter, same book -- yeah, I'll go with that.
I just think there are certain parallels that can be made to the beginning of your career -- playing a lawyer again, like you did in your first big lead role, in A Time to Kill; reuniting with director Richard Linklater, whose 1993 film, Dazed &amp; Confused, gave you your breakout role; etc. I was just wondering if you were making a conscious attempt to re-connect with your acting roots.
Not that conscious, but I'm sure it's not coincidental. It's things I'm interested in right now, stories I'm really wanting to be a apart of, and directors like Rick who I really want to work with and find things with. Not consciously, though. But I guess when you say it that way, though, those are things I did do earlier in my career, and here I am doing them again.
The Lincoln Lawyer is now playing in theaters nationwide.

The Lincoln Lawyer directed by Brad Furman and based on the bestseller by Michael Connelly is a victim of ambition -- it hasn’t got enough of it. Certainly the film has a lot to recommend it: a talented cast an interesting premise lively pacing a few nifty plot twists and a surprisingly strong performance from Matthew McConaughey happily rousted from his bland rom-com stupor. But it’s too tightly bound to the established conventions of the legal thriller. When you work within the dully familiar confines of a genre as exhaustively played out as The Lincoln Lawyer's to be merely “good” just isn’t good enough.
McConaughey plays Mick Haller a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who has carved out a nice niche for himself negotiating plea deals for low-level offenders who can’t afford upscale representation. His nickname stems not from any affinity for our 16th president but from his preference for conducting business out of the backseat of an older-model Lincoln Continental piloted by his chauffeur Earl (Laurence Mason). All lawyers work the angles inherent in our byzantine justice system; Haller elevates it to an art form practiced with utter ambivalence toward the actual guilt or innocence of his clients.
Cracks in Haller’s slick wheeler-dealer façade emerge however after he unexpectedly lands the lucrative job of defending a snotty entitled playboy named Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe better at playing snotty and entitled than perhaps anyone in the business) against accusations that he assaulted a prostitute. Dazzled by the dollar signs and convinced by Roulet’s protestations of innocence Haller ignores the subtly mounting evidence -- along with the warnings of his lead investigator (William H. Macy) and prosecutor ex-wife (Marisa Tomei) -- indicating that his new client isn’t just some petulant douchebag but a wily and deceitful petulant douchebag one who is almost certainly guilty of hooker-bashing and who may very likely be guilty of other more heinous crimes as well. What's worse: Another man one of Haller’s former clients is currently serving a life sentence for one those crimes.
A strange and intriguing game of attorney-versus-client plays out in which Haller driven by an epiphanic desire to clear his conscience and balance his karmic ledger strives to maintain the guise of a vigorous defense of Roulet while secretly maneuvering behind-the-scenes to undermine him. Furman directs the film with gritty streetwise élan although I found the redundant voiceover play-by-play in the film's many flashbacks to be a bit grating. He guides McConaughey to his best dramatic performance in years which is no small accomplishment.
And it might be enough if The Lincoln Lawyer weren’t the 900th iteration of legal thriller or courtroom drama that has made its arguments on the big and small screens over the past few decades. This is not an exaggeration: Law &amp; Order alone lasted for 456 episodes. And that's not even counting Special Handjobs Unit or the innumerable other lawyerly spin-offs. The genre long ago surpassed its saturation point even in a society as preternaturally litigious as ours. The Lincoln Lawyer no matter how well-executed cannot escape feeling rote and forgettable in the end. Move to dismiss.

Topher Grace stopped by Jimmy Fallon to regale him with two tales about how he made an ass of himself. Let us take a moment to enjoy this moment and laugh at poor, poor Topher Grace.
David Letterman had the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, on his show. They gabbed about their Oscar dresses they wore nearly a decade ago and holy shit can you believe that was a DECADE ago? Never mind that, we should all go see their new Broadway play. Free plug!
Christina Applegate was on Leno and I swear all I can hear is "Babybabybabybabybaby," it's like a fucking Justin Bieber song.
Conan had Marisa Tomei and once again I couldn't hear because my jaw hit the floor. Marisa Tomei you're so adorable.
And finally Howard Stern was on The Daily Show and hinted that Charlie Sheen might call his show tomorrow. Epic? No, this is WINNING.

Played first top-billed role in "Only You," second film with Robert Downey Jr.

Co-starred with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler in family comedy "Parental Guidance"

Played a stripper opposite Mickey Rourke in Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler"

Co-starred in "The Ides of March" with George Clooney, who also directed, co-wrote, and produced film

Nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role ("The Wrestler")

Feature film debut, "The Flamingo Kid"

Appeared in Dario Fo's "We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!" at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA

Starred opposite Jude Law in "Alfie," a remake of 1966 film starring Michael Caine

Earned plaudits for turn as a troubled single mother in "Unhook the Stars"

Made appearance as herself on an episode of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld"

TV-movie debut, "Parker Kane" (NBC)

Cast in the feature "The Guru"

Played female lead in comedy "Anger Management"

Appeared in ensemble romantic comedy "Just a Kiss"

Summary

For some performers, winning an Oscar became both a blessing and a curse. While an Academy Award could lead to bigger and better roles, it could also bring about career stagnation, as the actor tried to live up to unrealistic expectations. Actress Marisa Tomei was in danger of failing to warrant the hype after seemingly coming out of nowhere to nab Best Supporting Actress for her comical performance in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992). Though she spent the following years in long-forgotten movies like "Only You" (1994) and "Happy Accidents" (2000), Tomei managed to display potential star-making turns in "Unhook the Stars" (1996) and "The Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998), but they failed to propel her career due to slim box office performances. She proved her talent and career longevity, however, with her Oscar-nominated, subtle but complex turns in "In the Bedroom" (2001) and "The Wrestler" (2008), proving her worth to critics who had cruelly deemed her win for "My Cousin Vinny" to be a fluke, vindicating fans and critics who recognized her considerable talents all along.

Born Oct. 24, 1967; Acted together in the Showtime movie "My Own Country" (1998)

Gary Tomei

Father

Patricia Tomei

Mother

Romeo Tomei

Grandfather

Rita Tomei

Grandmother

Education

Name

Edward R Murrow High School

Boston University

Notes

In numerous interviews, Tomei indicated that her dream movie role was to star in a musical.

"The cool schedule, the hours. I like that. And, seriously, I suppose, certain wounds that I'll never know. And I don't want to know. Plus, I have no other skills. And it is f*cking fun." – Tomei on why she ws an actress, to Movieline magazine, July 1994

"Theater comes out of the human need for the expression of our understanding of the human experience. It's communal. The audience seems all one. Everyone is together on this one night, for this one show. You rarely see that when a movie finishes, people looking around and feeling like 'we all went through this together.'" – Tomei on why she preferred the stage, to The Boston Globe, Sept. 26, 1999

"I hate representing regular girls. Playing normal is the most difficult thing in the world for me. Give me the wise-mouth, fast-talking, sexy comedienne roles." – Tomei quoted in New York's Daily News, April 9, 2003